ambivalence
uncertainty or fluctuation, especially when caused by inability to make a choice or by a simultaneous desire to say or do two opposite or conflicting things.
Psychology. the coexistence within an individual of positive and negative feelings toward the same person, object, or action, simultaneously drawing that individual in opposite directions.
Origin of ambivalence
1- Also am·biv·a·len·cy .
Other words from ambivalence
- am·biv·a·lent, adjective
Words Nearby ambivalence
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use ambivalence in a sentence
One is that besides the workers and businesses that serve the industry, there’s a certain ambivalence among residents about the Convention Center and the tourism sector as a whole.
A Convention Center Expansion Is Still Years and Several Court Battles Away | Scott Lewis | August 25, 2021 | Voice of San DiegoThe FDA approved LYMErix in 1998, but with a great deal of ambivalence.
We Used to Have a Lyme Disease Vaccine. Are We Ready to Bring One Back? | Mandy Oaklander | June 17, 2021 | TimeShe has expressed much ambivalence over the years but never officially ruled it out.
Carolyn Hax: Your wife still won’t talk about having kids after 15 years of stalling | Carolyn Hax | May 21, 2021 | Washington PostAs years have passed, my desire for a family has only grown, but hers has diminished while her ambivalence increased.
Carolyn Hax: Your wife still won’t talk about having kids after 15 years of stalling | Carolyn Hax | May 21, 2021 | Washington PostDespite a nice conversation, “there is a little bit of ambivalence or apathy after the initial date,” Shiri said, unable to pinpoint the reasons.
But there is much ambivalence between her bright colors and sharp lines.
Wonder Woman’s Creation Story Is Wilder Than You Could Ever Imagine | Tom Arnold-Forster | November 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe ambivalence is reflected in U.S. policy, which often has served to complicate aid delivery in conflict zones.
A strong note of ambivalence is also present in the conflict over love and duty between Gromov and his wife.
All parties display ambivalence, all the characters lie to themselves, everyone has someone else they blame.
The Feminist Aesthetic of ‘Happy Valley’: A Refusal to Eroticize Violence Against Women | Batya Ungar-Sargon | August 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe see-sawing ambivalence neatly reflects how badly and misguidedly politicians and political parties approach women.
But now also the psychological fatality of ambivalence demands its rights.
Totem and Taboo | Sigmund FreudOnce again he was conscious of a strange ambivalence in his attitude.
Turning Point | Alfred CoppelWith the decline of this ambivalence the taboo, as the compromise symptom of the ambivalent conflict, also slowly disappeared.
Totem and Taboo | Sigmund FreudHe remembers this leading to an intense relationship that he looks back upon with a disturbing ambivalence.
Against The Grain | Joris-Karl Huysmans
British Dictionary definitions for ambivalence
ambivalency
/ (æmˈbɪvələns) /
the simultaneous existence of two opposed and conflicting attitudes, emotions, etc
Derived forms of ambivalence
- ambivalent, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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